Baldwin Proposes Study of Critical Care to Improve Quality and Reduce Costs

Press Release

Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) today introduced legislation to ensure that critically ill and injured patients continue to receive the highest-quality care. The Critical Care Assessment and Improvement Act of 2011 is designed to identify gaps in the current medical critical care system and bolster capabilities to meet future demands.

"Despite the significant role critical care medicine plays in providing high quality health care and its impact on health care costs, it is often not understood as a distinct specialty posing intense challenges in the health care system," explained Congresswoman Baldwin. "If we are to reduce costs and improve the quality of medical care, it's important to assess the unique demands of critical care," Baldwin said.

Critical care medicine is the care of patients whose illnesses or injuries present a significant danger to life, limb, or organ function. Each year, five million Americans are admitted into traditional, surgical or neo-natal intensive care units (ICUs), and nearly 80 percent of all Americans will experience a critical care injury or illness as a patient, family member, or friend of a patient. Critical care medicine consumes a significant proportion of our health care expenditures, representing 13% of all hospital costs, with the total costs of critical care services in the U.S. exceeding $80 billion annually.

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